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02 January 2015

Empties: December 2014

Happy New Year!!! I had a quiet new year's, as the husband had work on the 1st. We had his mum and pop over from Tasmania (as mentioned in my previous post). They went to the city for the 9pm fireworks but I was too lazy to go. I've seen the Sydney fireworks three times, and whilst it's spectacular, the crowds and public transport is just too much of a turn off.

I really should have done this December's empties blog post last year, but better late than never! I love reading empties posts, as they encourage me to finish products before buying more. I hope this encourages you to do the same. If I had to have one new year's resolution, it would be to cull or finish more products before purchasing. So without rambling any further, these are the products I've managed to finish last month...

1. Dove Triple Moisturizing Deeply Nourishing Body Wash

I've been trying to finish my non-Bath & Body Works (B&BW) body washes. I am currently using my last Dove Body Wash, so expect to see it featured again in January's empties post. I love the smell of Dove body washes. However, despite the "Triple Moisturising" claim, I do not find it any more moisturizing than my beloved B&BW shower gels. In fact, I used to find the B&BW ones more moisturizing, but my skin doesn't feel as dry after a shower than before. If I could not get B&BW shower gels anymore, I would repurchase this Dove Body Wash.

2. Vaseline Spray Moisturizer

I feel like this is a bit of a gimmick, especially after seeing the ad on TV for this moisturizer where the lady sprays it on, wipes it in once and puts her clothes on. I find that this moisturizer isn't all that moisturizing. Also, it does take a few "wipes" or time for this moisturizer to be fully absorbed before putting your clothes on. Furthermore, I seem to always get some moisturizer on the floor with the spray, maybe it's because I am holding the spray too far away? Anyway, I probably would not repurchase, as I did not see any benefits.

3. Paula's Choice Purely Natural Refreshing Toner

I remember getting this in a beauty subscription box, and commenting about the "Ideal for Baby too" stamp that is on the bottle. I still do not understand why a baby would need a toner. This is a gel toner that seemed to do a pretty good job. I probably wouldn't repurchase, as I think there are better toners out there that I need to find!

4. Nizoral 2% Anti-Dandruff Treatment

I've featured this anti-dandruff shampoo/treatment in a few of my empties post. Although it is quite expensive, it's absolutely brilliant at relieving itchy scalp! I don't use this as much as I used to. I probably use it once a week or even once a fortnight, when my scalp starts getting a little irritated and itchy. My hair does feel squeaky clean after, and I can't decide if that's a good thing or bad - good thing that it's clean, but bad thing that it feels like it has stripped all my natural oils. Would repurchase (I'm now using the 1% version).

5. Macadamia Natural Oil Deep Repair Masque

I used to absolutely love this masque by Macadamia Natural Oil. For some reason, this did not work as well as it did before. My hair still had some tangles, and it just didn't feel as soft and moisturized. I also found that it did nothing in the anti-frizz department. This might be due to my hair being more damaged now that it's blonde. I probably wouldn't repurchase this hair masque for a while.

6. Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer

Whilst I love the way this primer makes my skin feel, I absolutely hated how I couldn't get the last bit of product out from the bottom of this glass bottle. The tube pump thing doesn't reach the bottom of the bottle, and it's extremely hard to completely finish using this. I also found that it does not agree with some foundations (such as the Hourglass Immaculate Liquid Powder Foundation), as I end up getting little balls of foundation/primer on my face. I probably wouldn't repurchase as I feel the cons outweigh the pros. Also doesn't help that this is so expensive.

7. Caudalie Divine Oil

I cheated. I have actually been pouring this oil into a much user-friendly bottle (Josie Maran Argan Oil) with a dropper. I had about one quarter of a bottle left before I poured it into the Josie Maran bottle. I thought I'd throw this in now before I forget. It's a great oil, but I think I prefer the Josie Maran one for the face, as it's a bit too perfume-y for my face. I have been using this for my hair instead. It doesn't a good job at keeping frizz at bay and adding a bit of nourishment without weighing my hair down. I may repurchase this for my hair, but not for my face.

8. Uriage Aqua Precis Moisturizing Refreshing Cream Gel (sample)

I didn't think I'd like this face moisturizer for normal to combination skin, but I ended up being quite impressed! It added enough moisture to my skin to prevent my oil glands from overproducing oil. In other words, whilst using this moisturizer, my skin was slightly oily instead of very oily. It also helps that this smells amazing! I am thinking about repurchasing this in the full size, but I would like to finish more moisturizers that I have on hand first.

9. Neutrogena Hydro Boost (sample)

This was featured in my October empties post. I still have the same opinion. It's a great, fast absorbing moisturizer that smells fantastic. However, it's not very moisturizing in the long term. And as such, I won't be purchasing the full size version.

10. Tarte Lights, Camera, Flashes! Mascara

The only thing I dislike about this mascara is the brush. The plastic spikes on the brush are far too spiky. I have lost count of the number of times I've nearly poked myself in the eye with the spikes! It's a shame because I really liked the formula. Unfortunately, the brush is a deal breaker for me and as such I won't be repurchasing.

11. Benefit Bad Gal Lash

I really liked this mascara by Benefit. It's a fantastic volumising mascara without clumping. Unlike the Tarte mascara, I had no problems with this brush (it has bristles instead of spikes in case you were wondering). Would repurchase if I didn't already have a drawer full of new mascaras to use.

12. Seche Vite Top Coat

Love my Seche Vite top coat! Although it's supposedly terrible for your health, it's just such a great fast drying top coat! Already have repurchased.

13. Estee Lauder Daywear Advanced Multi-Protection Anti-Oxidant Creme

This day cream smells really fresh, like cucumbers, and it isn't too heavy or feels oily on my skin. The only thing I didn't like is that it comes in a tub. I hate digging my fingers into products, and this is unfortunately a deal breaker for me. If I'm going to fork out $45 for 30ml or $65 for 50ml, I don't want to be wasting half of it stuck in my fingernail.

14. Biore Cleansing Oil Cotton Facial Sheets

Love these makeup remover wipes! They leave my skin feeling so refreshed and clean. I wish the sheets were a little bit bigger though. They're about half the size of a regular makeup remover wipe. As far as I know, this is not available in Australia. I purchased this in Singapore and would repurchase the next time I go.

15. Gatsby Powedered Oil Clear Paper

Another amazing product that was purchased in Singapore. Absolutely love these oil blotting papers, and would repurchase over and over again.

16. Stieva-A cream (0.05%) - prescription only

This is a Retin-A cream that is prescription only. I probably could squeeze more product out of this, but I have a tube of Stieva-A 0.1% that I've been wanting to use. I asked for a stronger cream after realizing that the 0.05% wasn't doing much for me anymore.

That's it for December's empties. What did you finish last year that I should be trying?

4 comments:

Empties posts also inspire me to finish products before (trying not to) buying more. It is so weird that the Hourglass primer isn't compatible with one of their foundations. I had to mix the Macadamia masque with my conditioner to help with detangling but it did moisturise my hair. I found that it didn't really smooth my ends when my hair was bleached and I had soooooo many split ends but once I cut them all off, my hair responded much better.

The Lights, Camera, Flashes Mascara is on my list when I go to visit Sephora eventually! Hopefully the brush isn't too spiky for me - I've actually poked my eye a few times with the Benefit's They're Real! mascara and it is painful!

I thought it was so weird that the Hourglass primer didn't work with its foundation too! Maybe it was the moisturizer I used at that time too. I haven't bothered trying it again since. My hair is feeling so much better after a massive haircut (the hairdresser left bleach in my hair for too long and fried the ends). But the Macadamia hair treatment just didn't make my hair feel the same as I remembered when I tried it in early 2014.